Independent for 81 Years, the BBC Is Facing a Challenge
Date: 31 July 2003
By Alan Cowell
Alan Cowell
British Broadcasting Corp is embroiled in one of most bitter rows of its 81-year history, pitting its sense of independence and impartiality against government that has accused it of misreporting why Britain joined United States in war against Iraq; dispute was made even more sensational by death of David Kelly, government specialist in nuclear and biological weapons, identified by BBC as its main source for report on May 29 suggesting that Prime Min Tony Blair's office exaggerated threat from Iraq's weapons program to justify joining war; unusual debate is encouraging critics and rivals to challenge BBC's view of itself and its curious status as public broadcaster financed by compulsory license fee among television viewers, yet protected by Royal Charter from government control; photo (M)
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Occupation Detains 2 Iranians in Iraq
Date: 30 July 2003
Two Iranians claiming to be journalists are detained in Baghdad on suspicion of security violations; Iran says Saeed Abutaleb and Soheil Karimi are documentary filmmakers (S)
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PRESIDENT DENIES HE OVERSOLD CASE FOR WAR WITH IRAQ
Date: 31 July 2003
By Richard W. Stevenson
Richard Stevenson
Pres Bush, in first full-scale news conference in nearly five months, says he did not exaggerate urgency of going to war with Iraq, and says American forces are 'on the hunt' for Saddam Hussein; says he takes 'personal responsibility' for assertion in his State of Union address about Iraq's nuclear weapons program that turned out to be based on questionable intelligence; calls his national security adviser Condoleezza Rice an 'honest, fabulous person' when asked if she should be held responsible for inclusion of disputed assertion; says he remains confident that banned weapons will be found; says he understands need to produce evidence to 'placate the critics and cynics'; says he does not know how close American forces are to capturing Hussein (M)
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Judge Warns Against Naming The Accuser Of Kobe Bryant
Date: 30 July 2003
By Adam Liptak
Adam Liptak
Colorado Judge Frederick W Gannett issues order threatening action against any media interest that publishes or broadcasts name of woman charging basketball star Kobe Bryant with rape; legal experts say order amounts to unconstitutional prior restraint (S)
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In Bush's Words: 'Taking the Fight to the Enemy' in Iraq
Date: 31 July 2003
Excerpts from Pres Bush's news conference; photo (L)
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Times Editor to Select Reader Representative
Date: 31 July 2003
By Jacques Steinberg
Jacques Steinberg
Bill Keller, new executive editor of The New York Times, announces that he will name a 'public editor' to serve as representative for newspaper's readers; creation of position was recommended by internal committees created after damage to newspaper's credibility caused by discovery of extensive fabrications by reporter Jayson Blair (M)
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Blair, on Brink of a Tenure Record, Says He Won't Quit
Date: 31 July 2003
By Warren Hoge
Warren Hoge
Prime Min Tony Blair opens news conference with charts-and-graphs presentation of his government's achievements, and boasts that on Aug 2, he will become Britain's longest continuously-serving Labor prime minister; journalists then pepper him with questions about whether he is quitting; political fallout over Britain's participation in war in Iraq has presented his government with greatest crisis in its six years in office; Blair's confrontation with BBC over its coverage of war appears to be making his political future even more uncertain, although there is scant evidence he will have to or choose to leave office prematurely; although he has enjoyed high popularity ratings longer than any prime minister in British history, recent poll shows two-thirds of British public no longer trust him; photo (M)
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WILLIAMS TO SETTLE CHARGES OF INDEX MANIPULATION
Date: 30 July 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Williams Cos, natural gas pipelines operator, to pay $20 million civil penalty to settle Commodity Futures Trading Commission charges that company and its Williams Energy Marketing and Trading unit tried to manipulate natural gas price indexes from Jan through June 2002 by reporting false trading data to companies that compile indexes (S)
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CERBERUS DROPS OUT OF CLAYTON HOMES BIDDING
Date: 30 July 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Shares of Clayton Homes fall after investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management declines to challenge bid by Warren E Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (S)
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EARNINGS AT DUPONT RISE 24% ON STRONG SALES
Date: 30 July 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
DuPont reports second-quarter net income rose to $675 million, up 24 percent from $543 million in 2002 quarter (S)
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